I love how the kitchen turned out! So industrial chic. I am so glad you included the drawings..because I didn't know what that freezer was and also I couldn't picture from the photos where the stove and frig were. And doesn't your boathouse sign look great!

Hi Kelly! Congrats on your kitchen, have been following the progress since the Home Depot debacle. Can you tell me where you got the wooden open shelves? We are thinking of doing the same thing and I love the look of these!

Mich, we made the shelving with pine planks cut to fit wall to wall. We stained them with two coats of Cabot Polystain in Dark Oak and had them hung with Ikea black painted brackets. Andrew filled in the screw holes with black caulk for a more finished look.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I love the industrial/chic touches. Love. It. Thanks for including the layout plans and how they changed over time... I was a little confused as to the layout just by looking at the photos, but once I saw the floorplan it made total sense. You guys did a wonderful job! I especially love the wooden beams + with the industrial touches, and of course the chalkboard wall. Nice use of that space. It looks like it was totally worth all the aches and pains you had to go through to get it!

Fabulous job on turning tiny chopped up spaces into a wonderful kitchen that should work well. I'm not really into the stainless/industrial look - but you really did a great job of it. I like that it looks as if you did things over time - things don't exactly match, but they coordinate very well.

Give yourselves a huge pat on the back - you've done a great job. Hopefully the Home Depot cabinet fiasco is a quickly fading memory.

Ok, so when The Awesome Husband and I finally get around to renovating our kitchen and I post pictures of the results, keep this in mind: we were already planning to do a chalkboard wall. So one idea, at least, won't have been stolen from you. :)

Holy Awesomeness. With all the pain in the arse things that you endured, I would say this turned out to be well worth it. Every inch is amazing. I LOVE the granite and everything else in there. Kudos! So, I'm just gonna sit back and wait for your next awesome recipe that I can try out on the hubs now that you FINALLY got a kitchen again! Happy Thanksgiving!

I love it! You totally made the no-uppers work - I am always fearful or lack of storage but the hanging wine glass, all of that, I see how it can work. And a TV in the kitchen? I want one too (though hard to rationalize with another TV 12 feet away in the family room).

Thank you, Chacha! You're not late at all - I think a lot of people missed this post since I put it up in the middle of the night.

I was wondering when someone was going to notice the television. I was totally expecting a huge backlash against it, but I love it. It's wall mounted and tucks right between the shelves, but pulls out and tilts so that you can see it from the stove, sink, or stainless steel eat-in area.

Oh man, I know you have like 30 comments already but it looks freaking fantastic!!! I have been behind in my blog reading and commenting since starting my new job, but I had to take the time and tell you that this is an amazing transformation. I LOVE the wooden beams. Love. Like I actually had to catch my breath a little when I first saw them. I dream we can have that some day. The rest of the kitchen is so modern and chic, but the wooden beams are a nice rustic touch to balance it. Love it.

Side note: What is that stuff in your dog food bowls? Is that actually leftover food? I wouldn't know what that is. Murphy eats 3 cups of food a day in around 15 seconds flat. Then he looks for more. And tries to eat my magazines. Even when he gets a little fat, he still never leaves a drop of leftover food.

This is the most serene looking kithen I have ever laid eyes on. I love it and want to take a nap near it. I still cannot get over the fact that there was that bizarre original wall in the dead middle. By the way, let me know how you end up liking the under-the-counter fridge. It is honestly the only idea I'm not totally sold on... yet.

What you did to transform this awkward space into a beautiful kitchen is amazing, I don't even know where to start with my favorite parts. The layout, definitely, the line of subway tile running up behind the stove, the granite at the stove area, the doors next to the eating area, the chalkboard, the old door painted black. The open shelving...enjoy this space!! Are you busy cooking up a big Thanksgiving dinner? Oh, and the cabinetry, now they were worth the wait and frustration!! Beautiful...

Thank you, Janell. I was so pleased with the subway tile - you are the very first person to mention it, though! Finding a way to celebrate the stove without a vent or window or cabinetry was more difficult than you'd imagine.

what a challenging space, but MAN, you made it work! love the open shelving and the industrial touches, the subway tile backsplash and the mix of countertop materials. fabulous! so glad you are getting to finally enjoy it. you deserve it!happy thanksgiving!

What a beautiful space, Kelly! Well worth the wait. I love the mix of a somewhat modern industrial look with all of the stuff from old timey times. The beams... WOW! The black door... YUM! I even like the white subway tile (which I normally think ends up looking too sterile in most other kitchens), but it just works so well in your overall design.

Couple questions... Do you have one of those pop-up vents for your stove, or did you just forgo having one all-together? My cousin just bought a house with no stove vent, and she's wondering if that's going to be an issue. Also, how do you like the under-counter fridges? Is it annoying to bend down to get into them, or do you just get used to it? I can see with your space they were probably the best possible solution so you could still get an adequate amount of counter space in there...

Kate, the vent is built-in. You have to have one by code. The refrigerators are fantastic. We'd have to bend down for a regular refrigerator, anyway, and being that I fly low to the ground it isn't really a hassle.

Kelly,Hope you find this comment! Your kitchen is amazing and I am feeling a little kitchen envy over here! There are so many awesome ideas in one space. Loving the exposed beams! You must feel like you are in heaven :)Wendy

It's definitely much more enjoyable to spend time in, Wendy! The beams we got from a steal from a contractor who picked them up at an old job site. I really like how they turned out. They're pine and surprisingly light. Don't they look super heavy?!

This kitchen has turned out beautifully. I have just moved into my new flat but my kitchen is tiny. This has really shown me how much I can do with it, with a but of imagination and clever self storage. Really nice post, great results. Congrats!

There is so much great renovation in this post! My husband and I have a really small kitchen, and I would love to do something like the vintage kitchen. I've always loved the vintage look, and I think that it would look great in our home. Thank you so much for all the wonderful ideas!

In the eighties, I was a little kid who put together model buildings out of notebook paper and Scotch tape and spent days on end playing Monopoly with my best friend. What I've done over the last decade is pretty much the same thing. I began buying, renovating, and renting dozens of properties during Architecture school, where I mostly learned how to stay awake for six days straight. These days I'm slowly working my way through an eighty five year old house while taking care of a slew of rentals with a toddler (literally) strapped to my back. Sometimes I write about it here, but mostly I ramble.